TT, am i expecting too much too soon?

[Nina51]

did my second tt with the kole tang this morning. he is taking all of this in stride, eats well, never goes into the pvc until nighttime.

he still has a small spot on his tail fin. could this be scarring or will it eventually clear up?

patience, nina. patience!!! ugh!

 

[Spar]

anytime you see the small spots, this is where the parasite burrowed out of the fish and jumped off. however, what you might be seeing is lympho, which is a non-threatening virus. if you still see it in a couple days, be assured that is what it is, not a scar from Ich departing.

 

[Nina51]

thanks, cliff. now i'm beginning to wonder if this is what i've been dealing with all along rather than ich. i first noticed 3 small white spots and assumed it was ich. one spot is completely gone, one has gotten very much smaller and the one on his tail fin has stayed about the same. i never noticed any flashing whatsoever.

so from what i see, lympho is a virus that has no treatment other than pristine water quality and a good diet?

i assume i should stay with the tt regimen and then qt him for 4 weeks, right? if the spots are still noticeable after that time, is it safe to transfer him to my dt or is the virus contagious as long as the spots are visible?

 

[snorvich]

so from what i see, lympho is a virus that has no treatment other than pristine water quality and a good diet?

correct. On rare occasions if it threatens the fish's ability to eat, it can be plucked off with a tweezers.

i assume i should stay with the tt regimen and then qt him for 4 weeks, right? if the spots are still noticeable after that time, is it safe to transfer him to my dt or is the virus contagious as long as the spots are visible?

That is what I would do.

 

[Nina51]

thanks so much, steve! your word is gospel for me.

he's a great fish, so friendly despite all i have put him through the past few weeks. can't wait to get him into my dt!

 

[HumbleFish]

however, what you might be seeing is lympho, which is a non-threatening virus.

+1 A lot of times if you're seeing white dots on just the fins & spines (but not the body); it's the beginning of Lympho. It usually goes away on it's own. Pristine water conditions & feeding vitamin enriched foods seems to expedite the going away process.

 

[snorvich]

thanks so much, steve! your word is gospel for me.

he's a great fish, so friendly despite all i have put him through the past few weeks. can't wait to get him into my dt!

If you don't already do so, soaking his (her?) food in selcon or similar seems to expedite the recovery process.

 

[Nina51]

i picked up some Garlic Xtreme last week and have been using that. i'll see if my lfs carries selcon.

 

[snorvich]

i picked up some Garlic Xtreme last week and have been using that. i'll see if my lfs carries selcon.

Garlic may or may not increase appetite but in the long run is not good for fish. Selcon or vitachem add nutritional value and can be used long term.

 

[Nina51]

ok, i'll see about the selcon/vitachem. may just order some online as i have no plans to go to the city any time soon.

 

[snorvich]

ok, i'll see about the selcon/vitachem. may just order some online as i have no plans to go to the city any time soon.

I do all shopping online. Preferably with no sales tax.

 

[Nina51]

ordered and already shipped!

same for me, most of what i get, i get online. the nearest lfs is over an hour away and i *might* get there once every couple of months.

question...if this is/was ich, would it not have spread between the time i noticed it and when i started tt last sunday? the original 3 spots were there for 2-3 weeks before i began this treatment but they are/were the only spots i ever saw. originally, i tried copper but i never could get it up to the proper dose so i don't believe it did much (if any) good and that was only for 2 or 3 days.

 

[snorvich]

If a fish was in your tank that did have ich, it almost certainly spread it to the tank. The visible portion of the life cycle is short in terms of time and often times it is not visible at all in the early stages of being a parasite. Ich is a parasite that overwhelms as opposed to some of the more voracious parasites such uronema marinum, brook, velvet, that kill almost certainly without treatment in a short period of time. For more than you ever wanted to know about ich, read this.

 

[Nina51]

oh no, this fish was NEVER in my dt!!!! he had been in my qt from the time i got him until i started the tt last sunday.

my question wasn't very clear...what i meant was, if it was ich on THIS fish, would he not have developed more spots in the time before i started tt?

i have had that "ich thread" bookmarked for quite a while.

 

[snorvich]

oh no, this fish was NEVER in my dt!!!! he had been in my qt from the time i got him until i started the tt last sunday.

my question wasn't very clear...what i meant was, if it was ich on THIS fish, would he not have developed more spots in the time before i started tt?

No. The vast majority of time ich inhabits the gills first especially in a new environment where the number of tomites is minimal. That means you would not see a sprinkling of salt, but you would notice a subtle behavioral change. The fish might flash, but more subtly, and more indicatively would try to get additional oxygenation by hovering near water returns. I should have read your question more carefully.

i have had that "ich thread" bookmarked for quite a while.

 

[Nina51]

hmm, interesting! i never noticed the hovering behavior and in fact, from the time i first got him and once he was comfortable enough to not hide every time he got spooked, he has been out swimming normally pretty much all day/evening. i never see him hide until i turn the lights off and then he goes into his pvc bed.

 

[snorvich]

hmm, interesting! i never noticed the hovering behavior and in fact, from the time i first got him and once he was comfortable enough to not hide every time he got spooked, he has been out swimming normally pretty much all day/evening. i never see him hide until i turn the lights off and then he goes into his pvc bed.

It is not hiding that I am concerned with (reclusive behavior is symptomatic of a different parasite: velvet) it is inability to get sufficient oxygen. So you are probably good to go and continue TT

 

[Nina51]

that's my plan. third tt will be saturday morning. now that i understand this method, it isn't as complicated as it sounded at first.

 

[snorvich]

that's my plan. third tt will be saturday morning. now that i understand this method, it isn't as complicated as it sounded at first.

In my opinion, it is pretty easy. And if you use a collander (or similar, I dislike nets, but don't mind hands) for transfer, it does not seem to bother the fish much at all.

 

[Nina51]

this is what i use...
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/TANK/Picture001_zps90aeb145.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/TANK/Picture001_zps90aeb145.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Picture001_zps90aeb145.jpg"/></a>

it's a breeder box made of very fine netting. i found it in the freshwater section of the lfs. the frame is all plastic. i put it in the tank, corner the fish, and he swims right into it. i give it a quick dip in some of the water from the next transfer tank so virtually none of the water from the other tank goes with him. this is also what i used to acclimate the second hawkfish when i added him to my dt. it can either "free float" or stick to the glass with a couple of little suction cups.